Chelsea v Man City – Tuchel to Edge Pep Once More

on Saturday afternoon at Stamford Bridge. Thomas Tuchel beat Pep Guardiola on three occasions last season including in the FA Cup semi-final, the league match at the Etihad, and the UEFA Champions League final. The last 12 Premier League meetings between these sides have not ended in a single draw.

Chelsea Form

Chelsea sits top of the Premier League despite a start that has seen them playing Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham away from home in their first five matches. The Blues have conceded just one goal in those games. The side began this season by lifting the UEFA Super Cup before beating Crystal Palace 3-0 at home.

A 2-0 win at Arsenal and 1-1 draw at Anfield followed as Chelsea defending superbly with ten men for the second half. A 3-0 home win against Aston Villa followed before beating Zenit 1-0 and winning 3-0 at Spurs. After a tough first half, the Blues netted three second-half goals through Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante, and Antonio Rudiger. The Blues hosts Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night with a fringe starting XI expected.

Chelsea Team News

Thomas Tuchel has to decide whether to use a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 system in this match. After the success of playing N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, and Jorginho together in the second half at Spurs, all three could start here. Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso should be the wingbacks with Thiago Silva starting as the middle center back.

Upfront, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz are fighting to partner upfront with Mason Mount another possibility if 3-5-2 is used. Christian Pulisic is close to a return from injury and could be amongst the substitutes. Edouard Mendy is doubt in goals but should return in time to start

Chelsea Motivation

The Blues will know a victory would be a massive result and arguably confirm the team as title challengers. A fourth consecutive victory over Man City would lay down a marker.
Chelsea will look to be solid defensively and if three genuine central midfielders are selected, the team will have less firepower on the pitch but be a lot harder to break down.

Man City Form

City began this season with 1-0 defeats to Leicester (Community Shield) and at Tottenham in the league. They well and truly bounced back by thrashing Norwich and ten-man Arsenal both 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium. A strong 1-0 win at Leicester followed before a 6-3 thumping of RB Leipzig after the opposition had a man sent off with the score at 4-3.

City did not truly look themselves in that match and could only draw 0-0 at Southampton their last league match. They only produced 1.2 Expected Goals with Kevin De Bruyne only on the bench and Ferran Torres an unused substitute. Their only shot on target came in the 90th minute. In midweek, City played Wycombe Wanderers in the League Cup and won 6-1 as five different players scored.

Man City Team News

Phil Foden and Kevin de Bruyne are fit after long injury problems but have been eased back in. Both were only substitutes at Southampton but should now be in the starting XI for this big match. John Stones and Aymeric Laporte are carrying injuries in defence which could mean a start at his former club for Nathan Ake.

Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, and Oleksandr Zinchenko are all injury doubts for this match. Guardiola’s attacking selection will be interesting with Raheem Sterling a little out of form and Ferran Torres pushing hard for a recall as the false nine. Riyad Mahrez will hope to start after a brace against Wycombe.

Man City Motivation

City will be very motivated to at least avoid defeat in this match against a title rival. Pep Guardiola is sure to have some creative schemes to test Chelsea’s back three and wingbacks. The Spanish coach will be desperate for a victory against Thomas Tuchel after three losses in a row.

Expect City to be attacking and proactive but also a little fearful of counterattacks with perhaps an extra man kept back in “rest defence” to protect against the likes of Lukaku, Werner, and Havertz.

Key Stats

Chelsea have kept 23 clean sheets in their last 35 matches

Chelsea have seen under 2.5 goals in 25 of their last 31 matches (all comps)

None of the last 12 PL meetings between these sides has finished level (7 wins for City, 5 for Chelsea)

Tuchel has won 3 consecutive matches against Guardiola after 0 wins in 5 matches before that

Lukaku has scored 4 goals in 5 appearances for Chelsea

Man City’s Ferran Torres has scored 5 goals in his last 6 PL matches

Man City have conceded in 4 of their last 6 away PL matches

Verdict

This match isn’t easy to call. A tight affair is certainly expected in a similar vein to the Champions League final. Chelsea is perhaps better equipped to win with their almost clean bill of health compared to City’s knocks and injuries in a few departments.